


Winning Our Game

by madmeridian



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Feelings, Hanahaki Disease, I'm Sorry, M/M, Sad, lots of regret
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:33:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26997514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madmeridian/pseuds/madmeridian
Summary: Mello is pissed when the petals come, but he finds a way to win anyway.
Relationships: Matt | Mail Jeevas & Mello | Mihael Keehl, Mello | Mihael Keehl/Near | Nate River
Comments: 10
Kudos: 25
Collections: Meronia Hanahaki Fics





	Winning Our Game

**Author's Note:**

> get your tissues, everyone
> 
> it isn't explicitly stated in the story, but if you do not know, hanahaki disease is a illness in which the person coughs up flower petals as a result of unrequited love. The only cure is having their feelings returned. It's also a thing that it can be removed, but the feelings are removed with it. 
> 
> anyway, enjoy!

Mello was beyond pissed when he coughed up the first petal. He knew exactly who he was “pining” for and it irritated him to no end. 

The white petals were a dead giveaway. He couldn’t tell what type of flower it was, just that it was white. It was all he needed to know exactly who it was. 

Matt peered over his shoulder at it. Mello knew him well enough that he could practically already hear what he was about to say. 

“Maybe we should-”

“Absolutely not.” He was shutting down that idea before it was even entertained. He was far too proud to ever go back and work with Near. Regardless of what this condition was going to do to him, he refused. 

“Well, what are you going to do?” 

Mello looked down at the small petal. What was he supposed to do? He didn’t even believe that he _loved_ Near. Sure, he’d been obsessed with their rivalry, but that certainly wasn’t love. 

Near had been a constant in his mind for such a long time. Mello supposed that it was fair enough that he might’ve developed feelings, but the thought of it enraged him. He guessed that that was simply how feelings were. They crept up on you until it was too late before you realized it. They were fucking awful and this was the proof.

“I need to go out,” Mello said abruptly, throwing the petal into the trash. He wanted to get his energy out. Walk. Maybe start a fight. He was angry enough to tussle with someone and the satisfying feeling of hitting someone was something that sounded very nice right now.

“Maybe you should talk to som-”

“Matt,” Mello interrupted sharply. “Leave it alone.” 

He felt a twinge of guilt as Matt visibly deflated. He knew his friend was just worried about him. Matt had always been the kinder of the two and he was just trying to help. He sighed and put a hand on Matt’s shoulder. 

“I’ll bring back a pizza or something for dinner, okay?” 

Matt shrugged his hand off, going off to pout in his room and then forget about the whole thing to video games. Mello watched him go, and then slipped out the front door. Unfortunately it was late, so the streets were relatively quiet. There was nobody out to mess with, which just irked Mello even more. 

He walked around a bit to see if there was anyone hiding out, but everywhere was just as empty. There were a few times he had to stop to have a coughing fit and he left each petal in the dirty streets. 

Mello didn’t want to go to Near about this at all. There was nothing the albino could do anyway. Mello thought that Near would be insane to love him after all the shit Mello had done to him over the years. Not to mention, he wouldn’t go crawling back to Near. It would be admitting defeat. Deep down, he knew that he probably shouldn’t have left Wammy’s and joined the mafia, that he should’ve just sucked it up and worked with Near. 

But it was too late. 

There was no going back now. He had to deal with the consequences of his actions, and this disease was one of those consequences. 

Mello figured that this was one thing Near wouldn’t foresee. Usually, the younger boy could see through anything, figure anything out. 

Not this time. 

He could see it now, Matt on Near’s doorstep with only white flowers as an explanation fpr Mello's death. Mello wishes that he could see the look of surprise on Near’s face, even if it was only a slight change of expression. Maybe just a little widening of his storm gray eyes. 

_God damn it, stop thinking about him. It’s what got you into this mess._

After about an hour of ambling about and contemplating his inevitable death, he went and bought a pizza to bring home, as promised. Matt seemed annoyed with him still, but begrudgingly thanked him for the food. 

The next few months were hell. It got worse and worse. Mello had survived a damn explosion, so he didn’t let it slow him down. Even when the white petals he coughed up became stained with red. The pain was awful, but Mello dealt with it. He wouldn't let this disease rule him.

He thought he’d succumb to it at some point and that made him furious because he still felt as if that was Near winning. Near was the reason he had the disease and it would kill him. But he found a solution. Or rather, was given one, by Near himself. 

The little fool was going to get himself killed at the warehouse because he had missed something. Perfect little Near _missed something_. Lidner had told Mello all about his plan and he knew what he had to do to win this, once and for all. 

He’d managed to stop himself from coughing anything up in front of Kiyomi Takada. She took her damn time stripping out of her clothes and Mello could feel flowers building up in his throat. Still, he held back until she was shut away properly and then descended into a coughing fit. 

Matt, unwarranted, had done the research. The flowers were camellias, white ones. Mello hadn’t cared to hear about it. Matt had done his best to attempt to get Mello to do something, anything. He’d begged Mello to go to a doctor, which Mello argued was too dangerous for them. 

Mello had spent more than a few nights comforting Matt, who’d cried because he knew his best friend was going to die. 

And now, Mello wanted to cry, because Matt had died first. He saw the news report. Shot down, like an animal. 

Mello drove towards his destination with a hard, calculating determination. He would be joining Matt soon anyway. And he had a job to do with his limited time. 

He smiled when he felt the discomfort, the squeezing pain in his chest. Another coughing fit decided to wrack his body one last time. 

_All this trouble…_

Mello got the flower out before his vision faded. He stared down at the white flower as he died, praying that Near would be safe and end Kira once and for all. 

_All for Near…_

**Author's Note:**

> I'M SORRY THIS IS LEGITIMATELY THE SADDEST THING I'VE EVER WRITTEN
> 
> all that aside, an anon on tumblr asked me if I would ever write more hanahaki. I don't think this is what they were hoping for. But it is hanahaki nonetheless. I've been very active lately but my classes are not very busy this week, so here I am once again! 
> 
> I made myself cry writing this, so let me know if you cried too! 
> 
> Oh, and one other thing. Any writers reading this, this is a psa. I'm asking literally anyone out there (pls) to write a hanahaki meronia fic. I want to read something I didn't write SO BAD. obv you don't have to if you don't want to, but if you do want to, DO IT. I will love you forever if you do. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Any comments or kudos are greatly appreciated! And I do my best to respond to all comments <3


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